Obiri motivated me to switch to 800m, says Moraa

TOKYO, Japan, July 31 – Despite failing to qualify for the finals at the Olympic Games in Tokyo, Mary Moraa says she’ll remain forever thankful to world silver medalist Helen Obiri who motivated and convinced her to switch to 800m.

The World Under-18 400m silver medalist made the bold decision to scale up and take on the onerous task in 800m.

“Hellen (Obiri) has been my mentor through and through. She has always encouraged me to target higher limits whenever we went out for training,” Moraa, who was the only Kenyan woman to qualify for the semis revealed.

The 21-year told Capital FM Sport that her elimination from the Tokyo event was just a bad day in office.  She says she is more comfortable running in 800m given her good balance of speed and endurance.

“Losing a slot in the final doesn’t discourage me in any way. It has just made me even stronger. It is my first 800m race at a major international event,” Moraa said.

She added, “Getting to the semis is a another big plus for me. Moving from one race to another is usually tough for any athlete. But I made that decision last year and said I will stick to 800m. And I’m happy how far I have come in Tokyo. So far I thank God for the favours extended to me.”

Moraa nevertheless says she’s determined to rectify her weaknesses when she is back in the country.

“I feel I had not rectified my mistakes enough. In the next championship I will be better off.”

Moraa says there are tactics she has secretly picked from experienced runners in 800m like Ajee Wilson from the USA. “I have just joined the big stage, So let’s see how it goes,” Moraa said.

Moraa says she’ll balance between 400m and 800m for purposes of speed.

“Once in a while I will try to run in 400m because of speed so that I can get the momentum to run in the 800m races.”

She now has her eyes firmly set on both the World Championship and Commonwealth Games next year.

“When I go back to Kenya I will start immediate preparations for both the World Championship and Commonwealth Games and see if I can make the target set for qualification. I want to attain the qualification mark early so that I don’t succumb to pressure of trying to qualify,” Moraa, who is fondly referred as ‘Kisii Express’ said.

-Alex Isaboke is reporting from Tokyo, Japan-